KOHAT, Dec 25: NWFP Governor Lt-Gen (retired) Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has said that education was the first step towards the development of any country which wants to compete and live with other nations with dignity.

Speaking at the 11th parents day ceremony of Garrison Cadet College Kohat (GCCK) on Friday as chief guest, the governor underlined the need for establishment of first class education institutions which were able to produce a fine lot of engineers, doctors and other professionals besides good human beings.

Praising the performance of the GCCK, he said that it had performed very well in a short span of time and presence of such institutions in the country gave the people and the government hope that the future would be in safe hands and there would be readiness to face any challenge of the new century.

The governor later inaugurated a new hostel and announced a grant of Rs1 million for the college.

The function was attended by a large number of parents of the cadets, the chairman of the board of governors, Kohat GOC Maj-Gen Niaz Mohammad Khattak; members of the board of governors, MPAs Syed Qalb-i-Hassan and Shaukat Habib and district nazim Malik Asad.

The governor awarded medals and trophies to best cadets of the year and top position holders of various faculties.

The cadets who got medals for grabbing top two positions were Malik Bilal Arshad, Arsalan Sabir (pre-medical first year), Furqanullah Babar and Talah Ijaz (first year pre-engineering group), Adnan Waris and Mohammad Shah (pre-medical final year), Waqas Rafiq and Zeeshan Mustafa ( pre-engineering final year), Mohammad Azhar (recitation from holy Qurran) and Mohsin Ali Naqvi (quiz).

First and second prizes for best Urdu and English essay writing went to juniors Kashif Jawad and Wajahat Ehsan and seniors Shahidullah and Raheel Rasool.

All round best performance trophy went to Mamoonur Rasheed. The best house trophy was awarded to Sina House.

The principal of the college, Brig Tariq Saeed, highlighted the achievements of the college both in education and extra-curricular activities. He presented a sword to the governor.